City homicide case featured on national cable show

The Rochester Police Department's Major Crime Unit makes its return to the airwaves Thursday night when it will be featured on "The First 48" on A&E.

The show depicts the unit's investigation of the shooting death of William Klick, 37, who was killed Oct. 7, 2012. Police found Klick dead in the street about 5 a.m. when they responded for the report of shots fired from a Shot-Spotter gunshot detection device. Klick had been shot at least four times and was the 32nd homicide in Rochester that year.

Rochester officers have been featured before on the show, which "takes viewers behind the scenes of real-life investigations as it follows homicide detectives in the critical first 48 hours of murder investigations, giving viewers unprecedented access to crime scenes, interrogations and forensic processing," according to its website.

The description of Thursday night's show: "In Rochester, a man from a neighboring suburb is found shot to death on a city street. The Major Crimes Unit tries to piece together the last hours of the victim's life to discover what may have brought him there, and find that his wife may hold the key to solving the murder."

Time Warner Cable broadcasts A&E locally on channel 102. The Rochester episode is scheduled to run at 9 p.m.

From the archives (Aug. 8, 2012)

Police investigate weekend homicides

By Justin Murphy, Staff writer

Rochester police are investigating two homicides that happened within 12 hours Saturday and Sunday, with a suspect in custody in one of them.

Vinh Dac Phan, 54, of Rochester, turned himself in several hours after a 32-year-old man was found shot dead in his car on Veterans Place, an alley that runs just west of South Avenue near its intersection with Alexander Street, Rochester police said. Neighbors reported gunshots about 6:40 p.m.

Phan lived on Brayer Street in Rochester, near Lyell Avenue. His neighbors recalled him as friendly and hard-working.

"He always seemed friendly — I haven't heard him cussing no one or arguing," said Clemont Barbour, who lives on neighboring Lorraine Place and knew Phan as "Vinny" after living near him for eight years. "He worked all the time, and every time he had a chance he'd bring someone from (Vietnam, his native country) over here, give them a place to stay and a chance to make some money."

The victim's name has not been released pending a determination by the medical examiner, but police said Phan knew the victim and may have been related to him.

In a second shooting death this weekend, police found a man shot dead in the street on the city's west side at about 5 a.m. Sunday. William S. Klick, 37, was found on Copley Street, west of Lincoln Avenue. Police said he suffered two fatal gunshot wounds to the upper torso.

Police did not release Klick's hometown, but Facebook friends of a William Klick in Honeoye Falls were posting Sunday to express shock and sadness about his violent death. There is no suspect. Several neighbors reported hearing gunshots.